The first specialized center for victims of sexual violence in Czechia is due to open in Prague on Monday. The facility will offer victims psychological support and assistance, as well as short-term accommodation enabling them to take stock of their situation in peace.

Prague has been hitting back at propaganda launched after Czechia recently refused a Russian “summons” to the UN Security Council. With the social media campaign “Pro-Kremlin Fairy Tales”, the Czech Foreign Ministry is using humour to highlight the absurdity of Russian claims, combining storybook images with biting commentary. Karel Smékal, head of communications at the ministry, explains.

A four-year old Czech girl called Zara made headlines earlier this month when she reportedly became the youngest female to reach the base camp of Mount Everest, along with her father and seven-year-old brother. The overall length of the expedition to and from the base camp was around 270 kilometres, with an elevation gain of more than 20,000 meters.

Participants of talks on developing a peace formula for Russia's war on Ukraine met in Davos last Sunday and President Zelensky subsequently asked Switzerland to organize a high-profile peace conference on the drawn-out conflict. I spoke to Czech Deputy Foreign Minister Jan Marian, who represented Czechia at the Davos talks, to find out how much progress was made and whether the prospects for peace have improved.

Gustav Mahler, one of the greatest composers of the early 20th century was born in Vysočina Region, also known as the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands. Mahler's birthplace in the village of Kaliště now serves as a guesthouse, restaurant, and concert venue adorned with the composer's images and artworks.

A replica of a famous clock tower that used to stand outside Prague’s Florenc metro station for nearly four decades has returned to its former location. The original steel structure from the mid-1980s had degraded beyond repair due to extensive corrosion and had to be removed in 2020.

On a two-day visit to Israel, Czech President Petr Pavel assured the country’s top officials of Czechia’s continued support in the war against Hamas. At the same time, he expressed concern for the fate of civilians on both sides of the conflict.

Palach Week, which occurred 10 months before protests that toppled Czechoslovakia’s Communist regime, began 35 years ago, on January 15, 1989. The demonstrations were brutally suppressed – but still signaled a growing willingness to reject the regime.

Karel Janovický a Czech-born composer, pianist and broadcaster, died last week in the United Kingdom at the age of 93. Janovický escaped from communist Czechoslovakia in 1949 and settled in London, where he worked for the BBC and headed the station’s Czechoslovak section in the 1980s.

Iran-born Kaveh Daneshmand moved to Prague to study film a decade and a half ago and has been based in the city ever since. Alongside his own filmmaking projects, Daneshmand heads the Írán:ci festival of Iranian cinema. On the eve of this year’s edition, I asked him how his homeland manages to produce great films despite severe restrictions – and whether he could ever imagine returning to the Islamic country.